SWIHA Blog

In honor of our intention to ‘Be on Purpose’ in the month of January, SWIHA staff member and Yoga Teacher, Joan Lloyd Collins, shares her story of discovering the power of holistic modalities.

What brought you to SWIHA?

My spirit guides and divine intervention. I called the Bay Area home for 25 years. Because I was driven by the teachings of western medicine, I pursued my Master’s in Public Health and my Bachelor’s in Nursing. However, things changed in 2010 when I developed a health issue. I went to my regular doctors—had scans, and tests of all kinds—and in the end the advice I received was that I had to live with it. That there was nothing that can be done.

JoAnn Sanchez is trained in social work, forestry, natural resource development, botany and describes herself as a “primarily self-taught Herbalist” with experience spanning four decades.

“A natural attraction and affinity to plants began in childhood,” says JoAnn, program director of the Western Herbalism program at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, “as it is with many Herbalists.”

If you’ve been into the Healing Pages bookstore on the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts campus in the last decade, chances are you’ve been blessed to meet Roann Monson. “She has such an eye for picking outstanding books to sell in the bookstore,” her fellow Healing Page's co-worker Anyada Francia says, “She is always up on the newest, most interesting books, and people loved to see what she would bring in.”

Her passion for books is life-long. In fact, she served in the ASU library for thirty years! During that time, she would often come in to Healing Pages and declare that when she retired from ASU, she was going to work in the SWIHA bookstore. A woman of her word, Roann retired from ASU on a Friday and picked up her first shift with the SWIHA community the following Monday!

When she’s not in SWIHA’s teaching kitchen supervising and inspiring future Nutrition coaches, Janet Lee has her own thriving business, A Healthy Journey, which combines her passion for health with Life Coaching principles to assist her clients in leading fulfilling, wellness-centered lives.

“I welcome curious individuals willing to explore what is not working in their lives. Encouragement, education and excitement are shared to open up to new possibilities, creativity and opportunity for health, happiness and wholeness!” Janet explains.

“I love being a life coach because I am given the opportunity to witness women stepping into their power,” says Sharon Rose of The Goddess Leadership Academy, “I get to see her glow when she has a new awareness, a new idea, a new action to take. Being able to support her through this and hold the space for her transformation if a gift.”

“It also supports me in my own growth in my business and personal life,” she continues, “I can only expect my clients and students to go as far as I am willing to go, so I am always striving to expand myself.”

“Being a Life Coach is just part of who I am,” says Linda Bennett, “I love asking questions and helping others dive deep and find the treasures within.”

Linda Bennett is a Hypnotherapist and Life Coach who owns Heart Centered Healing as well as serves as the Director of the Hypnotherapy program here at SWIHA! She has been a practitioner and instructor of Hypnotherapy for twenty-five years and became involved with Life Coaching in 1996. Along with KC Miller and Carolyn Frasier, Linda helped to create the original SWIHA Life Coaching curriculum in 2002.

“My life truly is my very own happy place,” Janell Erickson tells us, “I have found healing and health through holistic and inspirational living.”

Janell is a transformational coach, using an array of modalities to facilitate major shifts in the lives of her clients. Her path to SWIHA, however, was full of twists and turns!

“I had a totally different lifestyle,” Janell explains, “I was married, raised two step-sons, lived by the Colorado River, worked as a human resource manager, as well as owned a thriving ice cream truck business and eventually a steakhouse. And then the low tide of life swept in and set me up for the next part of my journey.  I survived an alcoholic husband, bankruptcy and finally divorce.

Rudy Frame is a Massage Therapist, Yoga Teacher and currently pursuing the 700-hour Western Herbalism program at SWIHA. He’s been a SWIHA student since 2005, when he took a course on Gua Sha while working in a chiropractor's office.

He tells us: “I took a different route of service for six years in the United States Marine Corps, traveled the world and completed a Bachelor’s degree. However, government work was no longer appealing to me. Like a light bulb it hit me: go back to SWIHA and work on my own healing journey from my short time of intense service in the Corps.”

My personal favorite quality of Janet Lee’s, a Holistic Nutrition instructor at SWIHA, is that she can make a heavenly cheesecake--and it’s all nutritious, raw vegan ingredients! A close contender is her ability to deliver her wisdom and knowledge in a relatable, engaging way. Each interaction, you’ll come away with a fascinating food fact or thinking: “Wow! I didn’t know I could do that with my veggie scraps.”

“I’ve always enjoyed hearing about people’s journeys,” she explains, “and I thought [Life Coaching] would be a nice compliment to my interest in nutrition coaching.”

'Come All Ye Faithful' is a classic Christmas carol from the 1600’s, and encapsulates the invitation offered by Reiki Master Mary Ritter to Christians drawn Reiki as a healing modality.

“Yes, you can be a Christian and practice the energy-modality known as Reiki!” affirms Mary, the mind behind Holy Reiki. 

Candidly Mary shares, “There was a time in my life I may have been worried about what those in my church thought about Reiki. Today, the practice of Reiki has brought me even closer to my Christian foundations. It is Christ that I call upon when I am providing a hands-on healing experience.”